The State of Affairs
by Rising Dragon
Summary: After a long mission, Fate T. Harlaown visits her best friend with a heavy heart.  When Nanoha's words trigger memories of the past mission, Fate chooses to reveal all and let her friend's judgment come.


"So Vivio's still at school right now?" Fate asked as she sat on the couch, making herself comfortable. Nanoha called from the kitchen, confirming it.

"Mmn! She recently made a new friend and was going to spend the day over at her place," Nanoha said, stepping out with a pair of teacups in her hands. She handed one to Fate before sitting down on the couch opposite of her, across the coffee table. "But when she heard you'd be back from your mission today, she couldn't wait to get home, so she decided to postpone it until tomorrow."

Fate smiled as she accepted the tea, picturing how excited Vivio must've gotten when she heard the news. The girl had had come such a long way, grown so much since the JS Incident, and now she was as cheerful and as energetic as any other girl her age. "I can imagine," she replied. She took a sip of her tea before speaking again. "How are you and Vivio doing? It must be a big change for you two now."

"Its fine, its fine. We've been keeping busy," Nanoha waved it off cheerfully. "Vivio's keeping up on her studies and she's been making friends at school. She's been wanting to get a Device of her own, but I told her she needs to finish her training first."

"Mmn," Fate could see that. Nanoha always was strict with the girl, but she'd been getting better after the JS Incident and the events inside the Saint's Cradle. "And what about you, Nanoha?" she asked, setting her cup down.

"I'm okay, Fate-chan," she said, smiling at her friend before taking a sip of her own tea. "I haven't been doing anything strenuous with my magic, even when I'm training with Vivio. I don't want to get scolded by Shamal again, so I find things to busy myself with. There's always something to do here."

"That's good," Fate said, feeling a bit relieved at the admission. "I was a bit worried when I heard about your condition. I know how you tend to go overboard at times."

At least Nanoha had the decency to blush at that.

"Mou, Fate-chan," Nanoha pouted, before finally cracking a smile. "I'm not that bad."

"Sure you aren't, Nanoha."

The two shared a laugh, and Nanoha drank some of her tea before continuing. "You're always such a worrywart. I'll be fine, Fate-chan, you'll see. I'm more worried about you, really."

"Eh?" Fate was caught off-guard. Why would Nanoha…?

"You're always off on your own on your missions," the other woman clarified. She didn't look too concerned, at least, so maybe she wasn't trying to bring up something important. "And you're always taking up the long ones now, too. And with Erio and Caro moved out and on their own… I suppose I just wonder how you're doing out there."

Nanoha was right, of course—a lot of the missions she'd had taken up since the disbanding of Riot Force Six were long-distance ones that could take months at a time to complete. It wasn't like she didn't have good reason, at least; Nanoha and Vivio needed time to develop as a mother and daughter, and if Nanoha's reassurances were any indication, it was certainly showing fruition. When Erio and Caro decided to become independent and so they wouldn't worry her, she did feel hurt a bit, but she knew what they were trying to do and she gave them her blessing. It was strange to see Nanoha fret like this, so what was she getting at?

"I'm fine, Nanoha, really," Fate assured her with a smile. "I can take care of myself. Honestly, what brought this on?"

"Nyahahaha. It's silly, I guess," Nanoha replied, leaning back against the sofa cushions. "I guess I thought it might get lonely for you out there all the time."

Fate started a bit, caught off guard by her best friend's statement. Lonely? For a moment, her cheeks colored—thankfully Nanoha hadn't caught it. That word quickly brought back the memories of what had happened during the last mission, reminding her of the things that she had done—things that she shouldn't have done.

"Yes. Lonely… I guess you can say it was lonely," she said, quickly regaining Nanoha's attention.

"Fate-chan?"

The blond-haired woman hiked up her leg up onto the couch and wrapped her arms around it, leaning her head back as she recollected everything that had occurred to her during the last mission. How could she explain it? She dreaded to think what her best friend's reaction would be when she found out, but she knew that she wouldn't leave Nanoha's house—could not, in fact—without telling her what had happened.

"I'll confess that I wasn't really prepared for how long the mission would be," she started, looking back to see Nanoha's patient expression. Seeing it was affirming, and she pressed on. "I don't know what changed things about it, but during the last mission, I was… lonely. Maybe it was because we were all together at Riot Force Six. But that doesn't really excuse why I did what I did."

"What do you mean?" Nanoha asked, cocking her head to the side.

Fate choked at that moment, but straightened up. "I did something I shouldn't have," she said, smiling nervously. She gathered up all her remaining courage, and took the plunge.

"I… I had an affair."


End file.
